By Natalie Caplan

Arena Network, Inc. recently announced that Justin Kujawa has joined the company as Booking Director. In his new role, Kujawa will focus on identifying and actively pursuing national and regional bookings for the company’s member venues.

Kujawa joins the Arena Network team after working with Nederlander Concerts in Los Angeles, CA for many years, where he booked many of the premiere concert venues in California including The Greek Theatre, Vina Robles Amphitheater and The Forum, to name a few. Prior to Nederlander, he worked 17 years for Live Nation, starting his career at Deer Creek Music Center in Indianapolis in operations, and working his way up to Talent Buyer.

“My years of experience as a talent buyer in many different markets throughout the country has provided me with a unique perspective to help Arena Network’s venue members”, Kujawa said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to build strong relationships with agents and promoters alike, and I’m looking forward to driving more content to our venues and getting to know many new markets and venue execs in the process.”.

“We are thrilled to have Justin joining our team,” said Arena Network CEO Andrew Prince. “As we all navigate this unprecedented time and venues welcome back fans, having someone with his experience and knowledge will be an incredible asset to all our members. We couldn’t be happier to have Justin with us as we continue to grow our membership and services.”

Natalie Caplan is Vice President of Entertainment for Arena Network and Theater Network.

By Jim Kelley

Fern, a leading national provider of exhibition and event services, announced that Angi Van Berg, CEM, will be joining the company on September 13 as a Senior National Sales Manager.

Van Berg joins Fern after a storied and successful career at Louisville Tourism. She will be part of Fern’s National Sales Team, focused on business development related to key trade show and association business across North America while also representing Fern at select industry events.

“Angi will be an exceptional addition to the Fern team. Angi has been a long-time friend of mine personally and of Fern. Her familiarity with our organization and her alignment with our values and culture made asking her to join our team an easy decision,” said Aaron Bludworth, Fern CEO.

Along with bringing a solid reputation as a collaborator and trusted advisor to show organizers, Van Berg’s vast network and knowledge of the industry are expected to create an immediate and positive impact.

“I have always admired the leadership team at Fern and the core values they have as an organization. It is a win/win for me to join a team that I respect and to be able to continue my career with Fern in the industry I love,” Van Berg said.

Van Berg is an active member of IAEE, both locally and nationally, and a member of PCMA. As of September 13th, she can be reached at avanberg@fernexpo.com or 502-472-6022.

Jim Kelley is Vice President, Marketing & Industry Relations for Fern, based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Comcast Spectacor, the operator of Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center in Pennsylvania, has established a dedicated events division.

The new Spectacor Events & Entertainment arm will focus on creating and producing events for the Philadelphia market and serve as the in-house booking agent for Wells Fargo Center, home of NHL ice hockey franchise the Philadelphia Flyers and NBA basketball team the Philadelphia 76ers.

The division will also collaborate with tour promoters to bring shows and concerts to the venue, as well as work on expanding the facility’s portfolio of events.

Spectacor Events & Entertainment’s first major event will be the Philly Tailgate Games, a block-party style event where participants will compete in tailgating competitions to win prizes, including a pair of tickets to every concert at Wells Fargo Center for a year.

Comcast Spectacor chairman and chief executive Dave Scott said the idea for the division came during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, when Wells Fargo Center was closed to the public and business found new ways to safely host events.

With few national touring options, Comcast Spectacor decided to build and promote its own events.

“Our business is driven by innovation, and in the face of a pandemic that impacted our entire industry, we once again found ways to innovate, safely host events, and lay the groundwork for this exciting new division of Comcast Spectacor,” Scott said.

Emily Dunham has been brought it to serve as senior vice-president of Spectacor Events & Entertainment and will lead the division. Dunham has managed concert bookings and event hospitality for multiple venues and organisations during her 20-year career.

“There isn’t a better city in America for live events than Philadelphia, and we’re thrilled to bring all kinds of exciting, new concepts to the city and the entire region,” Dunham said.

“As we create events, we’re focusing on what makes Philadelphia great – its sports, its food, its art, and most importantly, its people.”

By Sarah Maio

The Wisconsin Center District (WCD) and its construction firm partners Gilbane Building Company and C.D. Smith Construction are taking the first physical step towards construction of the multi-million dollar Wisconsin Center expansion. Fencing has been erected around the perimeter of the former parking lot north of the Wisconsin Center in preparation for early site work, with groundbreaking still planned for later this year.

“It’s incredible to see physical progress being made on the expansion,” said Marty Brooks, president and CEO of the WCD. “We’ve spent the past several years laying the groundwork behind the scenes for this project. Countless hours have been spent seeking feedback and thoughtfully sketching the expansion project on paper. It’s extraordinary to see the team’s hard work beginning to come to life in real time.”

As part of the expansion project, which will double the size of the convention center, the WCD has committed to contracting with at least 25 percent of minority-owned businesses, five percent of women-owned businesses and one percent of disabled veteran-owned businesses. The organization has also pledged that at least 40 percent of on-site construction labor hours will be performed by trade workers residing in the city and/or certified through the city as part of its Residential Preference Program (RPP). The expansion is expected to create 1,150 new on-site construction jobs and 1,150 off-site construction jobs during the build, plus 2,300 FTE jobs upon completion. Once finished, the expansion will allow the WCD to host multiple events simultaneously and offer flexible space arrangements to meet various clients’ needs.

The expansion is expected to be completed and open for business in Q1 of 2024.

Sarah Maio is Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Wisconsin Center District.

By R.V. Baugus

July 21, 2021 marked the return of the first live World Wrestling Entertainment Monday Night RAW since March of 2020. In the interim, WWE bounced around locations in Orlando and Tampa where it held matches under the heading of the Thunderdome with fans shown virtually watching the action. But let’s face it, there is nothing like the real thing.

With that, I asked lifelong friend Max Fincher to join me in taking in that first action right here in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. It would be my first attendance at a live event the size of what the crowd would be in Dallas that night. The buzz in the arena was palpable as fans for the first time in months got to actually see their favorite (and non-favorite) wrestlers up close and personal.

Prior to the matches, Max and I grabbed a seat at the bar at the Hero restaurant and bar located just outside the arena’s south entrance. Across from us, a gentleman was waxing, well, not so eloquently, about the card for that night’s matches as well as asking anyone within earshot to name their favorite wrestler. He and his lady friend were like most of the crowd wearing WWE swag. I felt out of place in a rather tame and non-descript short sleeve shirt.

We met up with the two on our way out the bar where again he asked me to name my favorite wrestler while also telling a buddy of his that I knew more wrestling names through the years than his buddy, which I am still trying to decide was a compliment or insult.

First thing you obviously notice in our “new normal” of spectating at live events happens upon entrance. Say goodbye to hard tickets, which I have a very hard time saying goodbye to, as witnessed by ticket stubs I still have from as early as the 1980s. If one does not have a grasp on phone technology and how to present an “admittance stub” via phone, one is basically out of luck and needs to get some fast training because this is how it is going to be going forward.

The entrance lines moved rather slow as folks were still figuring out the technology and how to present their ticket, but I anticipate over time that will dissipate as fans become familiar with all the nuances.
At first, I thought that Max and I were heading to the world’s longest concession line, until I realized it was actually a massive throng gathered to buy more swag of their favorite grapplers at the merchandise stand. Being away from live action for months encouraged people to open their wallets, as that line snaked quite a way on the concourse.

But find a concession stand we did. It was already in the making, but concessions are another part of the live venue experience turning fully to payment by card. The pandemic only rushed the process. I am proud to share as I always proclaim that American Airlines Center serves the best popcorn anywhere, and they still do. There is one difference, however. The popcorn is already bagged and placed in a bucket for the consumer to then open the bag and pour into the bucket, thus cutting out the middle man. Think of the ads on pizza boxes saying sealed by the pie place and opened by the purchaser. It’s the same principle.

The arena was packed for the show, and like any wrestling event I have been to included people of all ages, races, and ethnicities. It is one of the great happenings of attending a live event where people from all backgrounds come together to cheer or jeer their protagonist or antagonist.

A glance around the arena revealed most elected to not “mask up” than to mask. A feature that ran in our own Venue Professional magazine months ago was written by an architect that included diagrams of how venues in the future would have seating “pods” to accommodate social distancing. The distant future, perhaps, for on this night it was impossible to socially distance with a capacity crowd. The more I think about it, the only thing fit for a pod is peas. Lighten up, folks, I have my two vaccines and adhere to the rules and regs of where I am. I hope and pray we never have to get to a point to sit in pods, but if we do … I am
good with it.

When one is at a pro wrestling match and has the appropriate food and drink de jour of beer and popcorn, one has the need to visit the men’s room. Nothing really different happening in there, either, other than some short lines in front of the sinks for guys waiting to wash/sanitize their hands. This is obviously a good thing.

All felt safe and secure throughout the night. The fans had a raucous, good time, and got to get back out and experience the bond of live entertainment.

Oh, as for the matches (and you will just have to trust me on this), the show ended as Nikki A.S.H. (stands for Almost a Super Hero) in her costume get-up, cashed in her Money in the Bank contract to enter the ring and defeat “Queen” Charlotte Flair (yes, the daughter of the one and only Nature Boy Ric Flair) to capture the RAW Women’s Championship. She celebrated with the fans around ringside, who were totally down with the win.

It was also great to see the return of clever signs in the stands. A guy named Rick that I met in the past is often seen seated ringside with the greatest of signs. He was there for the matches, of course, and was ready to hold up a sign when villain Jinder Mahal was blathering on in the ring accompanied by his evil henchman Veer and Shanky. It was obviously Jinder’s birthday, because Rick’s sign read “Happy Birthday Jinder. You still suck.” Such love in the crowd.

Then there was the one held by a fan that stated simply “Boogs = Ratings.” OK, I know what you gutter minds are thinking, but rocker Rick Boogs comes out to strum a mean guitar before introducing his friend, Shinsake Nakamura. Listen to it sometime. You’ll be humming it trying to go to sleep.

In all, an evening not to be forgotten, and further demonstration to the value of live events as we try our best to return to some semblance of normalcy in a still ever-evolving pandemic world.

A big shout out to our friends Dave Brown, Ken Kuhl, and others over at the AAC for not only being the chosen site for the first live RAW in months, but for the great work they did on that night to make the evening safe, secure, and pleasurable for every person who entered through the doors. You all are the true pros.